Flocking apparatus



March 24, 1970 D. l. WALSH 3,502,052

FLOCKING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 6. 1967 United States Patent Ofhce 3,502,052 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 U.S. Cl. 118--57 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A flocking machine having a support for the article to be flocked which has surface portions for contacting the article and an air exhaust portion between the surface portions to provide a volume of air space beneath the article and in contact with it across its entire width.

This invention relates to flocking.

Objects of the invention are to provide, in a flocking machine having a vibrating surface for supporting the article to be flocked, reduced entrapment of air and better hugging between the article and the surface, and better stability and smoothness of the surface (e.g. when it is crowned), all in a simple, inexpensive, reliable and convenient (e.g., in terms of servicing) way, and With minimum distortion of any electrostatic flocking field employed in the machine.

The invention features a flocking apparatus in which the support for the article to be flocked comprises first and second surface portions for contacting the article and an air exhaust portion between the surface portions to provide a volume of air space beneath the article and in contact with the article across substantially its entire width. In preferred embodiments, a pair of blankets anchored at adjacent ends to a pair of spaced apart beams define the air exhaust in the form of a gap across the apparatus (preferbly communicating with a flock collection hopper below); the spaced apart beams are mounted for adjustnient perpendicular to and also about an axis parallel to the blankets (preferably by means of bolts in vertically extending slots in adjusting side plates, the slots being laterally displaced from the center of the side plates); a set of plates is provided for securing adjacent blanket ends to the beams; and there are provided in the flocking apparatus a feed cyclone, a vibratory assembly to impart vibratory motion to the article to be flocked (preferably comprising a series of spaced apart cylindrical beater bars with a series of longitudinally extending radially spaced projections and means to rotate the bars to enable the projections to successively conta-ct the surface portions and impart a series of localized upward displacements to them), and a flock collection hopper, for unused flock, disposed beneath the flock support.

Other objects, features, and advantages will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken together with the attached drawings thereof, in which:

FIG. l is a side view of a flocking apparatus incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan View, partially in section, taken along 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale of a portion of FIG. 1.

In the drawings there is shown a flocking apparatus which includes cyclone 12 which feeds distributor 14 for feeding flock into flocking chamber 16 onto the article to be flocked 17, and beater bars 18 (mounted on 9l1/2 inch 'centers and each having a cylindrical casing 19 with longitudinal bars 20 welded to its periphery at equal intervals). The beater bars are rotated, substantially in unison, by a series of timing belts 24 secured to a pulley and motor (shown generally at 25). Collector hopper 26 is mounted beneath the beater bars, and is connected by ducts, as is suction clean-off nozzle 28, to return cyclone 30.

Beams 31, 32 (each of 1A inch by 2 inches steel and 1153/8 inches long) extend across the machine between two of the beater bars 18 and are welded at opposite ends to plates 40, 41 which are in turn adjustably mounted on the machine framework (side walls 47, 48) by bolts 42, 43 in slots 45, 46. Stops 50, 51 limit the movement of plates 40, 41. Beams 31, 32 are spaced 3716 inch apart, the spacing being maintained by bolts 56 every 2 inches adjacent the upper edges of the beams, and bolts 58 (one for every three bolts 56 along the lower edges).

Rubberized blankets 65, 66 have their adjacent ends secured to beams 31, 32, respectively, by plates 70, 71 @s inch by 1]/2 inches steel) held in place by bolts 56 and elastic stop nuts 57, leaving air exhaust portion 60 beneath article 17. Blankets 65, 66 are anchored slightly lower (about 1/2 inch per four feet of flocking surface) at the entrance 21 (to plate 72) and at the exit 22 (to plate 73) of the flocking apparatus than at the midpoint of the machine to provide a crown, indicated generally at 75.

In operation, the article to be flocked is introduced at entrance 21, and moved, by appropriate means not shown (e.g., a conventional textile roller), along blankets 65, 66 toward exit 22. The rotation of beater bars 18 causes longitudinal bars 20 to impart a vibratory movement to blankets 65, 66. Gap 60 serves to remove air possibly trapped between the article and blanket by reason of the blankets vibratory movement. By means of adjusting slots 45, 46 adjusting plates 40, 41 may be moved to align beams 31, 32 to correspond with the general slope of the flocking surface depending on the distance it is desired to place air exhaust portion 60 from the crown 75.

Other embodiments (such as providing an air exhaust portion in a flocking apparatus employing a single, moving blanket to carry the article to be flocked, e.g., by using a series of blanket rollers to cause a downward vertical displacement of the blanket) will occur to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a flocking apparatus having a flock feed, a flocking chamber in communication with said flock feed, enclosing side walls parallel to the direction of movement of the article to be flocked, and a vibrating assembly arranged to at least periodically contact the flock support for the article to be flocked to impart vibratory movement to said article,

a flock support for said article comprising a series of flexible blanket members, having substantially parallel sides, substantially in parallel with said side walls, and placed end to end,

having adjacent ends secured, respectively, between one of two parallel beams, and one of two parallel plates,

said beams being adjacent and secured, in spaced apart relationship, at either end, to an adjustable sideplate assembly,

said plates being secured to said beams by a series of longitudinally spaced bolts, each bolt protruding successively through one plate, two spaced apart beams, and a second plate,

said adjustable sideplate assembleis being secured to said side walls each by two bolts protruding one each through vertically elongated slots in said sideplate assemblies into fitted slots in said side wall,

the movement of each of said sideplate assemblies on said bolts being limited by two stops, protruding from each of saidside-wallson either side of the center ofl v said sideplate assembly. 2. In a fiocking apparatus in which flock is fed into a ocking chamber and onto the exposed upper side of an article as it passes through the flocking chamber, the article having its upper surface exposed to receive the ock throughout the Hocking chamber and being supported on its lower surface on blanket means, said blanket means being vibrated by beater Ibars mounted beneath said blanket means, said apparatus including a Hock collection hopper beneath said beater bars, the improvement wherein said blanket means is anchored at one end adjacent the inlet to said flocking chamber and at the other end adjacent the outlet to said ocking chamber, and

is crowned upwardly between said ends,

said blanket means comprises at least two adjacent surface portions within said Hocking chamber having their respective adjacent ends mounted in spacedapart relationship to provide an air exhaust portion between said surface portions extending across sub- 20 stantially the entire width of said article, communi- 2,020,319 2,696,445 12/1954 Schwartz et al. 118-309 X said surface portions are adjustably mounted on said flocking apparatus for conforming the slope of said surface portions to said crown in accordance with the position of said air exhaust portion relative to the crest of said crown.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1935 King 118--312X WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner I. P. MCINTOSH, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

